


if it's a dream, then why it's fresh in my memory?

by adiosnoninos



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: #KunilFicExchange2k21, Cute Ending, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Kun sleeptalks, M/M, Moon Taeil is Whipped, Sharing a Bed, Strange habits, all i do is write for kunil tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:01:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28486500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adiosnoninos/pseuds/adiosnoninos
Summary: “Taeil-hyung,”Holy shit. Kun was dreaming abouthim..
Relationships: Moon Taeil/Qian Kun
Comments: 3
Kudos: 64





	if it's a dream, then why it's fresh in my memory?

**Author's Note:**

> This one's for you Encladus~
> 
> Also thanks to kunilarchive for hosting the #KunilFicExchange2k21 <3

The younger members jumped around, racing each other to see who gets to the ocean at first. Kun, Yuta, and Taeil trailed behind, taking their time to admire the scenery. The managers surprised them with an overnight stay at the location after they shot their latest MV. Not all of them were present though. Doyoung left with the managers earlier of an early schedule the following day.

With promises to their managers that they will behave, or as behave as they can get with three hyungs around, they were allowed to go on their own. Renjun suggested they play around the water for a bit before going back to their accommodation. Others readily agreed and quickly changed clothes.

The sun already set, painting the sky a reddish-orange hue. Some stars were peeked out and Renjun pointed out the moon earlier. The cool sea breeze blew gently as they walked towards the shore.

Taeil watched as Chenle coaxed Kun into joining them. Beside him, Yuta took photos of the members playing around. Loud, happy screams broke out as Kun ran away from Chenle and Donghyuck.

He could say that it was a healing time for them. Being away from the usual hustle and bustle of Seoul did wonders for their tired minds and bodies.

He’d love to drive to the seaside more often; the change of scenery gave him more inspiration. Once their promotions started, he’d love to sing with the image of his happy groupmates playing by the sea in his mind.

Wouldn’t that be a little too sentimental though? The song itself was already about being at home with one’s family of choice.

He had known these people for four, five, or seven years already. Taeil himself was barely an adult when he first entered the company. The CSAT was a memory from another lifetime and he barely settled in his university. Being surrounded by trainees much younger than him awakened his older brother instinct.

His sister told him it was because he wanted to cope with adulthood. He wondered if it was because these people never experienced normal life the way he did.

Yep.

He’s gotten too sentimental. Must be the so-called signs of aging. Did being an active idol make him age faster?

“Hyung! Hyung! Join us!” Donghyuck called out and beckoned him over. The rest already discarded their shoes to the side and rolled their pants up. Kun chased Chenle around while screaming something in Chinese. Renjun held on to Yuta’s phone as the Japanese tried to prevent a bloody murder from happening.

Taeil shook his head, smiling. He’d rather watch them tire themselves out. It was a rare opportunity for them to act freely and he’d hate to see them stop themselves. With no cameras present, they were a little louder, a little freer.

Kun caught up to Chenle and trapped the younger, trying to drag him towards the deeper end. When they caught each other’s eyes, his grin widened.

Kun looked really pretty against the sunset. The setting sun made it look like he had a halo around him. “Wow, an angel.” He thought as Kun walked towards him.

Wait a minute.

Pause.

Okay, that was just a general observation. Being surrounded by attractive people 24/7 desensitized him from otherworldly beauty. Kun is either just too pretty for his own good or Taeil is hungry.

Doesn’t matter. The sight in front of him is very healing anyway.

It’s almost dinner time by the time the boys came back from the beach. The younger ones plopped down on the couch, exhausted. Yuta called first dibs on shower, leaving the eldest two to start on dinner.

They decided on a simple dinner of kimchi fried rice and pork belly. Taeil grilled the pork while Kun made the rice. Yuta finished taking a bath and sauntered in the kitchen.

“Smells good. Is it the fried rice Kun liked to make?” Yuta asked, settling in one of the chairs.

The smell of cooking attracted the younger ones. Chenle popped in, sniffing “Is Kun making the rice again?”

“Yup!” Kun answered, popping the ‘p’. “I even added something special in it.” He added.

Others scrambled towards the seats, eager to get a taste of their cooking. Taeil added slices of pork belly on top of freshly-cooked kimchi rice. Kun topped it off with fried eggs.

Taeil set down the plates and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry, that’s all we can cook right now. We’ll get fancy next time.”

Most of them looked appalled. Donghyuck, in particular, was very vocal about it. “Are you kidding me?! Simple is the best! Does WayV mind that we steal their leader because I miss his cooking. There’s something special and homey about- “

“Why don’t we just eat?” Renjun cut in. “Hyuckie can save his declarations of love for later.”

“Hey!”

The rest of the table laughed as Renjun and Donghyuck bickered back and forth. Chenle added fuel to the fire and

Dinner was a lively affair. The members shared news about what is happening around lately. Chenle brought up that he was about to bring home a puppy soon. Kun shares his own stories of raising three pets underneath their manager’s noses. The rest asked when they could come around to see Chenle and WayV’s pets.

Taeil was curious about how WayV managed to get away with keeping Louis a secret for weeks. Between their busy schedules and the demands of raising a pet, it was quite difficult to find balance. They constantly flew in and out of the country as well.

Cats were easier to raise according to Kun. Most of the time, they left Louis to his own devices. The dorm aunties came by to feed him during their overseas schedules.

They were creatures with their own personalities. Leon was the more chill of the two cats, letting his butlers do as they please. Louis eyed them with disdain most of the time and was often found high up in the cat tower. Both cats adored Ten the most among all the members while Kun was more inclined towards Louis.

Kun showed several videos of their pets. Taeil was more interested in watching Louis and Leon than he was with Bella. He had to agree that cats were more fascinating than dogs.

Several cute cat videos in, Taeil couldn’t take it anymore. “Kun you have to—no, you _need_ to bring me to your dorm! I need to play with the cats immediately!” He begged, tugging on Kun’s arm.

“I don’t think I could…” Kun trailed off, avoiding his gaze.

“Please? Just for everyone’s favorite hyung?”

In the background, everyone snickered. “That’s right Kun! You should listen to our favorite hyung!” Chenle egged him on.

Kun looked at Taeil’s puppy eyes and sighed, giving in. “Fine. The dorm will be pretty empty next week and you can watch them for us. Go bonkers.”

Taeil cheered and hugged Kun tightly. He failed to notice how the younger turned bright red at the gesture. “Thank you! Thank you! I can’t believe I don’t have to stare longingly at the cats at our dorm!”

Yuta agreed, saying he was tired of Taeil trying to sneak out to feed the cats without catching sasaengs' attention. "His fans are really passionate about his love for cats. Kun here likes cats too." Taeil gasped in indignation. He was fed up with being surrounded by people who liked dogs more than cats. Having another person in their supergroup who liked cats as well was a bonus.

"Kun you can't back out now. I have, and _I will_ start randomly dropping by your dorm."

The Chinese man looked helplessly at their groupmates. Donghyuck smirked at him. "Good luck with that Kun. Chenle gave him his address once and his dormmates barely saw him ever since."

They finished dinner quickly, wanting to pass out after a long day. Taeil, Kun, and Chenle lost the game of rock, paper, scissors and they had to share the smaller room. While Yuta volunteered to do the dishes, the rest went up to their rooms.

However, when they opened the door to their room, Taeil nearly dropped his bag in shock.

Inside the room, there are two beds, one of them barely enough to fit two people. Chenle rushed in and instantly claimed the single bed. Which left them with the big bed by the window.

Fate played him so well today. Taeil wondered if he should sleep on the couch instead. Kun shared his sentiment because he offered to sleep on the couch as well.

“Absolutely not! I’m the eldest so I should let the younger ones be comfortable!” Taeil protested.

“But you have a dance practice tomorrow hyung!” Kun argued back, “Yuta said don’t even sleep well in your own bed.”

The two argued back and forth. Kun wasn’t wrong with what he said though. But Taeil is stubborn, insisting that he dealt with worse. An alternative is they could always sleep in the same bed. Taeil let people randomly crash on his bed before.

But why is the thought of sharing a bed with your groupmate of 4 years suddenly too much for him? The couch is a perfectly fine place, right?

“Oh my God hyungs stop fighting and just sleep together! Do you like each other or something?!” Chenle chimed in mid-argument.

“NO!” They shouted in unison. Both of them turned at each other in confusion.

Chenle thought otherwise. Mischief glinted in his eyes as he asked. “Is that so? Do you want me to call Doyoung so we can have a mini-AWSAZ here?”

A shiver ran down Taeil’s spine at the thought of doing those missions all over again while being dictated by someone. He’s perfectly content in his own way of making friends thank you very much. It’s not like he’s completely awkward with Jeno. They didn’t find any reason to talk together.

Kun, on the other hand, is a different case. After debuting in 2016, Kun was shuffled back into SM Rookies as he completed his final year of university while Taeil debuted in NCT 127. He had forgotten what it was like to hang around Kun.

NCT 2018 happened too quickly for his liking. The only time he was able to promote with the younger was during the Black on Black promotions. But even then, he was always surrounded by people. The least he could do was be as civil as he can without passing off the awkwardness.

Then the whole Resonance happened. For the first time in four years, he had to deal with Kun within close proximity. And the first thing he noticed that Kun matured into his looks.

It’s no brainer that everyone from WayV are visuals. SM had no problems assigning songs that are too sexy for Dream to perform and don’t resonate well with NCT 127’s bad boy on the block image. Taeil admitted to watching several WayV stages mostly for Sicheng.

Everyone in SM is strikingly gorgeous to a point even the media cannot deny that every member is a head-turner... Even Taeil himself is attractive. The screams of their fans are a testament to that.

To say Kun is attractive is an understatement. Where did that cute, boy-next-door from 2016 go and who replaced him with someone with enough charisma to kill a man. He swore on Donghyuck’s photocard binder that Bad Alive shouldn’t be allowed on the television.

If the music video and choreography weren’t enough to cause his poor little heart to jump 10 meters every time, it was the way Kun made the choreography much sexier than it's supposed to be.

The cocky smirk, the hooded gazes towards the camera, the all-black ensemble that Taeil enjoyed a little too much and… yeah.

There wasn’t a night he had a little problem down there thanks to the cursed music video. He’d rather admit that those dreams were because of stress rather than because someone woke up and chose violence.

For this comeback, Kun dyed his hair light, blond shade. With the way the light reflected off it, it made him look angelic. It’s like they flipped the switch on Kun. Or threw him in a time machine and said they wanted the cute boy back.

Taeil begged to differ. If he wasn’t thrusting his hips on national television, he agreed with everyone calling him cute and cuddly like a teddy bear. A far cry from the charismatic leader image he presented on camera.

Not that he minded cuddling Kun. It’s just one night, nothing can go wrong.

“I changed my mind.” Taeil tried to pass it off nonchalantly. “I think it might be colder later and we can always cuddle for warmth.”

“Hyung-“

“It’s just for a night Kunnie. We’re good friends now, are we?”

If the other members of 127 were here, they’d laugh at his feeble attempts of staying cool. They’re never going to let him live this one down.

Kun used the bathroom first, saying he won’t take long. As soon as Kun closed the door, Chenle turned towards him with a knowing look. “You obviously like Kun.” He teased.

Taeil scoffed as he set his bag by the foot of the bed. “I’m just being a good hyung.”

“If it were Yuta, you would have asked to switch to Donghyuck’s room.”

When did Chenle get this brutal and what they have done to the sweet, summer child. That was too spot on and he felt like he was wearing a transparent plastic suit, naked as the day he was born. Not the image he wanted to see but was forced to endure.

Chenle’s grin made him look like a Cheshire cat. It was a little terrifying, considering Chenle is a whole 8 years younger than him. “So you admit, you have a crush on our Kunnie?”

“I don’t! Why would I have a crush on him?!”

At that moment, the door opened, revealing Donghyuck and Renjun. The two overheard the conversation since they were sporting matching grins. The two would have given The Shining twins a run for their money. “I heard you. Does our youngest like someone here?”

Taeil squawked and threw a pillow at the pair. Renjun dodged it while Donghyuck was nearly hit square in the head.

“You’re not escaping this hyung!” Donghyuck shouted before he took off, gleeful laughter echoing off the walls. The room was suddenly much warmer than he remembered.

Taeil is no stranger to having crushes. He had experienced the joy and pain of pining over someone only to get crushed in the end. So, _crush_ in a literal sense. 

Plus, crushes are rarely reciprocated anyway. Unless he's as pretty as Suho from True Beauty, there is no way Kun will consider him more than an older brother.

Did he have a crush on Kun though?

To be honest, he never gave much thought to it before. 

All the moments where his heart stuttered, language momentarily forgotten. The way the whole world came to a standstill, the room shining brighter and the only sound he could hear was Kun's light, melodic voice.

Just like the sunset earlier.

Lighting struck him, jolting his senses awake.

_Oh my god._

He has a crush on Kun.

Kun chose that moment to walk in. A towel hung loosely around his shoulders. Even in an old, ratty shirt and cloud-patterned pajamas, Kun managed to look good. It's unfair to be this attractive.

He didn't realize he stared for too long until he noticed there was an unreadable expression on Kun's face. "Hyung, is there something on my face?"

"W-What? I mean nothing's wrong it's, uhm..." Taeil tried to rack up his brain for an excuse. Something that doesn't read _"Your favorite younger brother made me realize I might have a crush on you and now I ogled you like you're the finest masterpiece around."_

"- I'm thinking of taking the window side." He lied, patting the side of the bed he sat on. "It's so comfy here!"

Chenle tried to stifle his laughter behind the pillow. He mentally facepalmed at his stupidity. A totally believable excuse.

Kun seemed to buy it though. "Yeah sure. I hope you don't mind if I sleep talk." Not all men are perfect and Taeil is content with that. He slept through worse and Kun sleep talking is the least of his worries. 

Chenle waggled his eyebrows while they got ready for bed. "Whipped." He mouthed. Taeil flicked him on the forehead in response.

  
  
  


He lied. He can't sleep at all.

With Kun being one cuddle away, every single one of Taeil's nerves was on fire. He lay awake on his side, wondering why sleep was near damn impossible to catch now.

He had no problem sleeping in new places. The North American and European tour forced him to adapt to sleeping everywhere. He slept in the backstage once and was found by a panicked Doyoung.

So, why is sleeping next to a groupmate even more awkward than doing missions with Jeno? This felt like AWSAZ in extreme mode.

Sure, Kun snored. But not as exaggerated as Xiaojun said in a video once. It's not even loud enough to be considered annoying.

Taeil squeezed his eyes shut, begging sleep to even visit him once. Right when he's about to slip off to La La Land when he heard someone talk.

"Hyung, you're so pretty when you sing,"

His eyes flew open. What the fuck?!

He carefully turned to the other side to see Kun still fast asleep. What could he be dreaming about?

There is not much distance between them right now.

He observed Kun's features up close. Even under the moonlight, he looked beautiful. Long eyelashes that fanned out on his cheeks, the gentle slope of his nose, and his soft, pale skin. 

His gaze dropped down to Kun's lips. They were parted slightly and his breaths came out in little puffs. He wondered if it's just as soft when pressed against hi-

Nope 

That was too much.

  
  


Suddenly, he was engulfed in a tight embrace. Taeil tried to untangle himself but to no avail. Being a human teddy bear meant he had to get used to all kinds of hugs. He was more used to the half-hugs he had gotten in passing; the contact barely lasted a second.

  
  


If he was the human teddy bear, then Kun must be a space heater. The heat felt much nicer than his electric blanket back at the dorm. If he couldn’t get out, might as well enjoy the free body heat.

  
  


Taeil wiggled around to get more comfortable. He tucked himself under Kun’s chin, leaning so close he could hear the younger’s steady heartbeat. He’s glad that Kun is already fast asleep because he’s sure that his own heart thumped loudly against his chest.

  
  


Kun started mumbling again, although it was more muffled than the last one. He must be talking to someone in his sleep. “I wanted to kiss you. Like a lot." He listened to Kun speak. 

  
  


Dear person in Kun’s dream, you’re so lucky.

  
  


“Taeil-hyung,”

  
  


His eyes widened as his heart rate skyrocketed.

Holy shit. Kun was dreaming about _him._

  
  


“I like you so much,” Kun mumbled, snuggling closer.

  
  


“I like you too.” Taeil whispered back, almost on instinct. A soft smile spread across Kun’s face. Did Dream!Taeil said the same thing too?

  
  


He didn’t know how long he lay there. In the morning, Kun would forget what he dreamed about last night. 

  
  


Then, they would go back to being mere acquaintances; two ships passing through the night. If he thought about it, it was almost like they’re two parallel lines meant to intersect once and never meet again.

Selfishly, for one night, Taeil let himself fall into nothing.

  
  
  


The next few days were dedicated to practices. The incident at the campsite was all but forgotten. The morning after passed in a blur as the managers shuffled them off to their own practices.

  
  


At night, he was too exhausted to even ponder on it. He missed the warmth though. Taeil invited Donghyuck to sleep with him but it wasn’t the same.

  
  


Taeil would glance at the younger during their rehearsals. At first, it was an occasional, sideways glance. Chenle, in particular, noticed the pining stares and teased him for it.

  
  


But the longer it went, the more confusing it became.

  
  


Were his feelings a momentary thought that would leave when the project is over? Was it like when he had a brief crush on Jaehyun back in America because the pink hair suited him so much?

  
  


Was he attracted to his physical appearance or was it a recent discovery that his mind is obsessed with? 

  
  


The next time he was caught staring at Kun for too long, Chenle staged an intervention in a form of inviting both of them to his house. 

  
  


Chenle lived in Songpa, a few minutes' drive from their dormitory. He said that he wouldn’t be back until late and he needed someone to watch over Daegal. The three-month-old Bichon Frise reveled in everyone’s—especially Chenle’s—attention.

The said puppy barked at the front door. It wasn’t Daegal’s first time to be babysat by someone but for some reason, she was being extra hard on them today. 

“Daegallie come on, let’s go play with toys!” Taeil tried to distract the puppy with a toy. Kun, on the other hand, was in the living room. He scrolled through the delivery service app to see if there is anything interesting.

Daegal refused to budge and continued to bark and scratch at the door. Taeil joined Kun on the couch, plopping down next to him. “Raising pets is hard work. How did you even deal with it?!”

  
  


Kun shrugged, tapping away on the app. “She peed on Lucas’ bed. I’m sure Daegal will try to pee on Chenle’s bed. Chicken?”

  
  


“God, please do. If you could get Daegal to stop barking too I might even kiss you.”

  
  


As soon as those words left Taeil’s mouth, he realized he made a mistake. 

  
  


“Hyung-”

  
  


“Let’s order chicken!”

  
  


The atmosphere turned awkward. Taeil fiddled with his hoodie strings, keeping his eyes downcast. He could feel the other’s stare at him. He’s not sure if Kun is weirded out or worse. If the latter happened, he’s ready to book a flight to Jeju and become a sweet potato farmer.

  
  


“Alright then,” Kun finally spoke, breaking the awkward silence between them. “Let’s get chicken. We need to talk too.”

  
  
  
  


The puppy tired itself out from barking and was fast asleep on Kun’s lap. Chenle texted them that the recording was extended and they should get dinner. Their order was on its way and all it is left is for them to talk.

  
  


“I-” They both started. 

  
  


Taeil blushed and quickly turned away. So much for trying.

  
  


“Hyung, is it alright I go first?”

He let him go first. Taeil braced himself for Kun telling him he’s being weird. He could get over this silly crush faster and go back to before. This wasn’t his first rodeo and certainly won’t be his last.

  
  


He also half-expected that Kun would confess to him. Again, unrealistic even if it’s right in front of his face.

  
  


“CanIatleasttakeyououtonadate?”

  
  


Taeil blinked. Kun trained as a vocalist and not as a rapper right?

  
  


“Can you, uh, repeat what you said?”

  
  


Kun took a deep breath and sat up straighter. “Can I take you out on a date?”

  
  


Taeil gaped at him as heat flooded his body. He really did that.

  
  


The younger grinned at him. “Yes hyung, I just did that.” He added a wink for extra measure. 

  
  


“Hey! You can’t surprise me like that!”

  
  


The doorbell rang, signaling that their order arrived. Kun gently moved the sleeping puppy to Taeil’s lap. “Don’t worry hyung, I didn’t learn magic tricks for nothing.”

  
  


“Kun!”

* * *

_Chenle slumped down on his chair and stared soullessly at the monitors in front of him. Guozhen noticed his co-worker’s strange mood and asked if he’s alright._

_“I hate couples,” was all Chenle said before hitting his head repeatedly on the desk._

**Author's Note:**

> if kunil not thirsty in my fics, why bother posting it?
> 
> kudos/comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> socials:  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/weishenvtaiyi)  
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/adiosnoninos)


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